Much has already been done to achieve precisely controlled and customised regenerative therapies. Thanks to recent advances made in several areas relevant to regenerative medicine including the use of stimuli-responsive materials, 4-dimensional biofabrication, inducible pluripotent stem cells, control of stem cell fate using chemical and physical factors, minimal access delivery, and information-communication technology. In this short perspective, recent advances are discussed with a focus on a recent report on the use of mechanical stretching of nanoparticle-laden stem cells by using external magnetic field to induce defined cardiac line differentiation...

Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) serve as the top leading commercial, non-food, and model crop worldwide. Cyclic nucleotide-gated channels (CNGCs) are ligand-gated, calcium-permeable, divalent, cation-selective channels, involved in important biological functions. Here, we systematically characterized thirty-five CNGC genes in the genome of Nicotiana tabacum, and classified into four phylogenetic groups. Evolutionary analysis showed that NtabCNGC family of N. tabacum originated from the parental genome of N. sylvestris and N...

Bacteria colonize highly diverse and complex environments, from gastrointestinal tracts, to soil and plant surfaces. This colonization process is controlled in part by the intracellular signal cyclic di-GMP, which regulates bacterial motility and biofilm formation. To interrogate cyclic di-GMP signaling networks, a variety of fluorescent biosensors for live cell imaging of cyclic di-GMP have been developed. However, the need for external illumination precludes the use of these tools for imaging bacteria in their natural environments, including in deep tissues of whole organisms and in samples that are highly autofluorescent or photosensitive...

Epithelial tissues robustly respond to internal and external stressors via dynamic cellular rearrangements. Cell extrusion acts as a key regulator of epithelial homeostasis by removing apoptotic cells, orchestrating morphogenesis, and mediating competitive cellular battles during tumorigenesis. Here, we delineate the diverse functions of cell extrusion during development and disease. We emphasize the expanding role for apoptotic cell extrusion in exerting morphogenetic forces, as well as the strong intersection of cell extrusion with cell competition, a homeostatic mechanism that eliminates aberrant or unfit cells...

Microtia is a congenital external ear malformation that can seriously influence the psychological and physiological well-being of affected children. The successful regeneration of human ear-shaped cartilage using a tissue engineering approach in a nude mouse represents a promising approach for auricular reconstruction. However, owing to technical issues in cell source, shape control, mechanical strength, biosafety, and long-term stability of the regenerated cartilage, human tissue engineered ear-shaped cartilage is yet to be applied clinically...

We report a case of a woman who was suffering from post-radiochemotherapy perineum abscess concurrent with the recurrence of vaginal cancer for which total pelvic exenteration was performed. A 66-year-oldwoman presentedat our hospital with irregular genital bleeding in November 2014. A series of examinations showedthat she was suffering from vaginal cancer(cT2N0M0, cStage II ). A radiochemotherapy regimen(external irradiation 45 Gy/25 Fr, CDDP 40mg/m2, 5 course)was commencedin January 2015. In the meantime, MRI revealedsome therapeutic effect, but in October 2015, MRI indicated the enlargement of the primary tumor(PD)...

OBJECTIVE: To measure the axial stretching force produced by the small splint fixation system in the treatment of the fracture. METHODS: Dumbbell shaped plexiglass was machined to model the bone shaft with expanded two ends. Force transducer was set at the model fracture site to measure the stretching force produced by fracture fixation of the small splint with cloth aqueous bag that simulated the muscles and other soft tissue underneath. RESULTS: There was positive relationship between the axial stretching force produced at the model fracture site and the transverse pressing force exerted by the external plates...

Acute traumatic or surgical wounds that cannot be primarily closed often cause substantial morbidity and mortality. This often leads to increased costs from higher material expenses, more involved nursing care, and longer hospital stays. Advancements in soft tissue expansion has made it a popular alternative to facilitate early closure without the need for more complicated plastic surgical procedures. Areas Covered: In this review, we briefly elaborate on the history and biomechanics of tissue expansion and provide comprehensive descriptions of traditional internal tissue expanders and a variety of contemporary external tissue expanders...

Environmental toxicology has been expanding as growing concerns on the impact of produced and released chemical compounds over the environment and human health are being demonstrated. Among the toxic effects observed in organisms exposed to pollutants, those affecting skeletal tissues (osteotoxicity) have been somehow overlooked in comparison to hepato-, immune-, neuro- and/or reproductive toxicities. Nevertheless, sub-lethal effects of toxicants on skeletal development and/or bone maintenance may result in impaired growth, reduced survival rate, increased disease susceptibility and diminished welfare...

This study was conducted to depict anatomical characteristics of the penis in hedgehog. Seven sexually mature male European hedgehogs were used. Following anesthesia, the animals were scarified with chloroform inhalation. Gross penile characteristics such as length and diameter were thoroughly explored and measured using digital calipers. Tissue samples stained with Hematoxylin - Eosin and Masson's trichrome for microscopic analysis. The penis of the European hedgehog was composed of a pair of corpus cavernosum penis and the glans penis without corpus spongiosum penis...

Microglia and non-parenchymal macrophages located in the perivascular space, the meninges and the choroid plexus are independent immune populations that play vital roles in brain development, homeostasis, and tissue healing. Resident macrophages account for a significant proportion of cells in the brain and their density remains stable throughout the lifespan thanks to constant turnover. Microglia develop from yolk sac progenitors, later evolving through intermediate progenitors in a fine-tuned process in which intrinsic factors and external stimuli combine to progressively sculpt their cell-type specific transcriptional profiles...

BACKGROUND: Mature adipocytes can dedifferentiate into fibroblast-like cells in vitro and acquire proliferation and redifferentiation/transdifferentiation abilities. A soft-tissue expander can induce adipocyte dedifferentiation in vivo. This study combined a tissue expander and an external suspension device to generate a large volume of adipose tissue. METHODS: A soft-tissue expander was implanted beneath the dorsal adipose flaps of rabbits. After 7 days of expansion, the expander was removed and an external suspension device was applied...

Scaffold-free harvest of microtissue with a defined structure has received a great deal of interest in cell-based assay and regenerative medicine. In this study, we developed thermally expandable hydrogels with spatially controlled cell adhesive patterns for rapid harvest of geometrically controlled microtissue. We patterned polydopamine (PD) on to the hydrogel via microcontact printing (μCP), in linear shapes with widths of 50, 100 and 200μm. The hydrogels facilitated formation of spatially controlled strip-like microtissue of human dermal fibroblasts (HDFBs)...

Tissue expansion is the process by which extra skin is generated using a device that applies pressure from underneath the skin. Over the course of weeks to months, stretching by this pressure creates a flap of extra tissue that can be used to cover a defect area or enclose a permanent implant. Conventional tissue expanders require a silicone shell inflated either by external injections of saline solution or air, or by internal osmotic pressure generated by a hydrophilic polymer. In this study, a shell-free tissue expander comprised only of a chemically cross-linked biocompatible polymeric hydrogel is developed...

STUDY DESIGN: A feasibility study. OBJECTIVE: To develop a method based on the DICOM standard which transfers complex 3-dimensional (3D) trajectories and objects from external planning software to any navigation system for planning and intraoperative guidance of complex spinal procedures. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: There have been many reports about navigation systems with embedded planning solutions but only few on how to transfer planning data generated in external software...

Pilot clinical trials of human patients implanted with devices that can chronically record and stimulate ensembles of hundreds to thousands of individual neurons offer the possibility of expanding the substrate of cognition. Parallel trains of firing rate activity can be delivered in real-time to an array of intermediate external modules that in turn can trigger parallel trains of stimulation back into the brain. These modules may be built in software, VLSI firmware, or biological tissue as in vitro culture preparations or in vivo ectopic construct organoids...

Adequate biliary drainage with endoscopic or percutaneous placement of self-expandable metal stents represents the goal of palliation in patients with inoperable malignant obstruction of the biliary tree. As an adjunct to stenting, various tissue ablation treatments have been proposed with conflicting results. The aim of this study was to test the effect on biliary tissue of a new ablation technique based on Nd:YAG laser light delivery. The study was conducted on ex vivo specimens of 18 healthy farm pigs, using cystic ducts that are the simplest biliary structures to isolate and cannulate ex vivo...

INTRODUCTION: Varicella zoster virus (VZV) and subsequent herpes zoster (HZ) infection have been proposed as a causative agent of periapical pathoses and root resorption. This review aimed to identify, synthesize, and present a critical analysis of the available data on the association among VZV, subsequent HZ infection, and the development of periapical pathoses and root resorption and to analyze the level of evidence of available studies. METHODS: The literature search covered MEDLINE, Science Citation Index Expanded, and Scopus...

Over the past years, knowledge has expanded with regards to the multiple roles played by erythropoietin (EPO) in the body. Once believed to be a hormone synthesised in the kidney and involved only in the modulation of erythrocyte production, it is recognised now that EPO can be produced in many tissues, including the retina, and by many cells. In these tissues EPO is released in response to "tissue injury" and appears to have protective functions. Despite the extensive research conducted to date, the cues leading to release of EPO and its effects in the normal and diseased retina have not been fully elucidated...

The most popular approaches for vestibular schwannoma (VS) removal are retrosigmoid, middle cranial fossa and translabyrinthine (TL). All require a certain degree of invasivity, bone removal, or brain manipulation. Recently, the authors described the transcanal transpromontorial approaches (TTA), which allow the inner ear to be accessed directly through the external auditory canal (EAC), either with a microscopic (Expanded TTA, or ExpTTA) or even an exclusive endoscopic technique (Endoscopic TTA, or EndoTTA)...